Yearning
by Naomi Shadows
Summary: Ling Tong is tired of pretending to hate his pirate friend, but when the others all look so happy and in love it makes him so jealous he could almost admit it... Still, he had no way of predicting his reaction. Short, Yaoi, Gan Ning x Ling Tong


**Yearning**

Leaning idly against the fences I watch the others with longing eyes. The sun is shining and the breeze feels good; it couldn't be more beautiful outside. A few of the fighters have decided to train their skills and I was intending to join, but I lost interest.

Sun Ce is in the arena, or that's what I like to call the make-shift area anyhow. He's standing with Zhou Yu who seems to be attempting to teach him how to use a staff properly. The display is more than comical. His expression is so confused I'm sure I'm attracting attention from laughing so loud. Sun Ce is a great leader and amazingly strong, but sometimes he's just not that bright. That's why he has Zhou Yu.

Sometimes I can't stop sighing with envy when I see them. The way Zhou Yu looks at the tiger general, eyes so full of love… it's so obvious. The way they stand so near, close enough to feel the heat of another body, every once in a while touching in that gentle way. A touch that is soft and knowing. I nip at my fingers just thinking of someone touching me like that.

They continue to converse and I let my eyes wander, checking out who else might be watching. Taishi Ci is hovering nearby, obviously keeping an eye on our lord. His expression always radiates respect but to me he just looks like a giant armor covered babysitter. I wonder if they ever get a moment alone with him around.

Lu Xun and Lu Meng are close to me, enjoying the weather and talking. I can't quite hear them but the younger boy is always smiling. Whatever they're talking about, it's probably too nerdy for my interest. Books… or maybe strategies… boring.

All this happiness and I find myself scowling with jealousy, but I am.

Sun Ce groans so loudly it pulls me from my delirium. He's handing the staff back like it's hurting his feelings. "That's enough for today. Someone spar with me. I've had enough of these weapons." Zhou Yu just smiles.

Instantly someone answers and my eyes find the tattooed pirate I'd been avoiding. His voice is as cocky as ever and though I can't see his face I can imagine the expression. "I'll fight you. I'm bored out of my mind."

"Ah, good. Gan Ning." The general stretches his limbs, preparing for the attack. "You won't let your emotions get in the way. Don't hold back." He waves for Zhou Yu to back up.

Gan Ning just laughs.

The two just end up wrestling, not even bothering with weapons. I can't take my eyes off of them. Gan Ning… somehow I went from hating his guts to being completely captivated. In battle we're unbeatable, the competition of each other pushing us to fight. Soon I started to notice things about him, things my hatred had made me too blind to see.

On the outside he's rough but his eyes are kind and his smile shows he's having fun. The big idiot. Now I like to watch him but it's hard to keep him from noticing, even if he can be pretty thickheaded. He's sweating already, giving his muscles a nice glisten in the sunlight.

"Ling Tong."

…

"Hey!" I'm daydreaming when they get tired and call it a day, the pirate nearly in front of me before I realize I was zoning out. Blinking at him I turn around and lean back on the railing on my elbows. He grabs the rail and climbs over, taking a seat once we're on the same side. "Did your brain overheat in the sun?"

I glare at him, knowing he's just trying to get on my nerves for no reason. His hand is strangely close to my arm on the rail and I try to ignore it. "I was obviously deep in thought."

He snorts. "Yea, right. As if you think that hard about anything…"

Was that a comment on my laziness or is he just trying to be an ass? Deciding it's easier to leave the question unanswered I straighten up and walk away. Of course I hear him jump down and chase after me so even as I attempt to put some distance between us he closes the gap.

He doesn't even care that I am trying to run away from him. "Where are you going?"

"To my room."

"What do you wanna do?"

I can't even glance back at him that question is so far from what I had planned. "I didn't invite you."

"Come on, I'm bored." It's like he's a cat or something, pouncing about as I try to stomp towards the castle.

"Go find someone who cares."

"You care." He grabs my wrist and yanks me to a stop.

I try to throw my arm out of his grasp but his grip is surprisingly strong. Should I just ignore that comment? Maybe he's just saying that because we're something close to friends… I think. "What I mean is, go hang out with someone you like."

He lets me go, making a strange face, almost like he's confused. "I like you." Now he's the one walking away and I find myself frozen…

…for maybe a second. "What, really?" I scramble after him. I try to grab his arm and keep up with him but he's determined to be one step ahead. I have to grab those tails he calls hair to get him to stop. "Hey, are you serious?"

"OW ow ow ow! That hurts!" He's complaining so loudly I have to let him go or I'll just laugh. This man can put up with cuts and bruises all over his body and he can't handle a little hair pulling? "What was that for?"

"Do I have to beat you down to get an answer from you?" I step back, shifting from foot to foot, ready to give him a nice kick to the head.

He gets ready for the attack. "I thought you said you were going to your room?"

"…I am." I stop moving.

With a sigh he straightens up. "Well then, let's go."

Dumbfounded I end up following him in silence, trying to figure out how this even happened. We're in my room and closing the doors before I can come to a conclusion. He's either screwing with me or he's too dumb to realize what I'm saying. It's obviously one of those things.

I make it to the center of the room and end up sitting on the floor, sitting with my legs crossed and grabbing my knees still thinking too hard.

He crouches beside me like a kid and looks at me like he doesn't know what I'm thinking. "Can I kiss you?"

My heart skips a beat almost painfully and I look at him. He's still staring at me, waiting for an answer so I definitely heard him. "Sure."

Without hesitation he leans closer, brushing his nose against mine before kissing me on the lips. I have to push back a little so I don't fall over since neither of us seem to remember we have hands. He pulls away and looks at me again.

He stares at me for so long I end up smirking, "What?"

Falling onto his butt on the floor he stretches his legs out, sighing overdramatically. "Nothing." It's surprising the silence isn't uncomfortable. We don't spend much time together in silence. It's always filled with talking or doing stupid things and getting yelled at. "So, yea, I like you and all that."

I laugh out loud, leaning forward since we seem to be sitting opposite now. "How long?"

"Huh?" He lifts his head so he can look at me.

"How long have you liked me?" My feelings are somewhere in between curious and desperate to know the answer.

Looking up at the ceiling he rolls his head back and forth while he's thinking, rattling around that brain of his I guess. When he looks up again he just shrugs. "I dunno, pretty much since we met I guess. After that first time you beat me up."

I should have known. Groaning a little I laying down, pretending to be annoyed but it's more funny than irritating. "All this time I was suffering in silence and I could have just come out and told you. You suck."

His eyes are telling me he's known before today. "It's not like you hid it very well."

"When did you figure it out?" I roll onto my side so I can see him better.

This time he sits up, crossing his legs like I'd started out. He scratches his head and looks away with a laugh. "I found out when Zhou Yu came up and told me."

"What! That traitor." I burst into laughter. "I should have known you couldn't figure it out yourself. You're so thick."

"Hey." He punches my shoulder harder than necessary but I just can't stop laughing.

We talk about stupid things and situations when we'd been watching each other the whole time until night falls. The moon must be hidden because the blackness taking over the room makes it difficult to see. I get up and light a candle, the little flame creating a soft glow through the room.

Gan Ning decides he's had enough with the floor and stands up. "I'm hungry."

My stomach agrees and we leave the room to hunt down something to eat. It doesn't take long for us to gorge ourselves and walk away happy. I steal a bottle of sake on the way out and we walk down the hall like normal, the pirate one step behind me as we go, strutting like we own the place. Isn't that always how it is?

Someone's opened all the windows and a nice breeze is drifting down the corridor. I can't decide if we should sneak away and drink the bottle in private or hang out here. I'd hate for someone to walk by, like Zhou Yu, who would definitely reprimand us for keeping a whole bottle for ourselves, or worse, one of the veterans, who might actually take it from us.

Glancing back at my friend I take the lead and jump out the window, landing lightly on my feet outside. He's right behind me, jumping with surprising speed for a man of his size. The idea always makes me laugh but watching him is a different story.

"Where should we hide out and drink this?"

My lack of sharing isn't new to him and he points towards some shadowed area in the distance we've claimed before. It's not exactly hidden but there's a nice crescent of rocks below the trees nearby. No one will stumble upon us unless they have the same idea in mind. Within a few steps we end up racing and he beats me there, only because I'm trying to be careful with our drink.

I laugh for a minute, trying to catch my breath. "I obviously let you win."

"What a lie!" He's already prepared for more. "I'm always ahead of you by one step. Gimme." He grabs the bottle and takes a long drink, making a sound like he's refreshed. "It tastes even better after running."

Snatching the bottle back before he can spill it I move towards the rocks. "You'll never be normal, will you?" I take a drink myself.

"Nope." He doesn't need to hesitate. He comes to sit beside me, bending one knee as he leans closer. His hand pulls the bottle down and away from my mouth so he can take its place, pulling me into his lips. I just sit back and let him kiss me, this time tasting the mixture of sweet from the liquor and salt from his skin.

He pulls away and licks his lips. "Tastes good."

Grabbing onto the tails of his hair, I pull him close and kiss him again. His lips meet mine with a firm warm hunger and he tastes so good I open my mouth, wanting more. I've never enjoyed kissing someone like this, like nothing is going to be enough. He runs his tongue over mine and my mind breaks down into moans and small whimpers, sounds I didn't realize I could even make.

Obviously he feels the same because he's knocked the bottle of sake out of my hand and it's probably spilled all over but neither of us can stop. He's undoing my shirt before I can stop him, his hands pushing inside and shoving the fabric out of the way like it's fighting with him. With one hand on my chest he suddenly bites on my nipple and I fall onto my elbows. "Ouch! That hurts."

I try to shove him off but he changes tactics and starts kissing my chest instead. It starts to feel good so I don't stop him this time, even though his hair tickles now and then when it brushes across my skin. When he attempts to leave kisses back up to my nipple again this time he teases it gently and I inhale a sharp breath in protest. It feels too weird; I don't know what to think.

"Stop." Even though I protest my voice betrays me, moaning like I want more.

Maybe he's confused because he climbs on top of me and shuts me up by kissing me again, tasting my tongue until I can't push him off anymore. I jump when I feel his obvious arousal between my legs.

Suddenly he pulls away and smiles at me. "You feelin' good?"

I can't tell if he's trying to sex talk me or he really doesn't know. By the way he's breath heavily I know he feeling it. Before I can say anything he starts grinding against me and I can't talk anymore. I try not to bang my head into the rocks since my body seems to be doing whatever it wants in response to all the pleasure. He slumps forward and I get up on my elbows so I can kiss him, the near silence he'd been giving me turning into moaning too.

When I release him so we can breathe he mumbles something I can't quite understand. "What?"

All the grinding stops since neither of us can converse and molest the other at the same time. "What do you want me to do?"

I try to catch my breath while I stare at him, not understanding why he's asking. He even glances away like he's embarrassed and I realize he's never been with a guy before. "Will you be the bottom?"

He looks at me and I'm not sure what to expect. Maybe anger? He's pretty masculine when it comes to… well, everything. If I looked at him I'd guess he was the top. He just looks confused. I wonder, does he even know what to do?

Before I ask, he answers. "I will."

"Really?" I blink, surprised and excited at the same time. I'd never guess he'd say yes. I might have asked as a joke but if he's willing… I kind of want to try it out at least once before he changes his mind. If he changes his mind… Obviously I can't guess what he'll think anymore.

The sound of a branch snapping scares me to death and I shove him off just before the light hits us. I'm about ten feet away trying to fix my shirt when someone speaks up.

"What are you two doing over here?" It's Huang Gai. Even if I didn't recognize the voice I can distinguish his giant body even as a silhouette. He must be out on patrol and we were too busy grinding to notice.

The pirate is preoccupying his attention, dusting himself off from my shove but sitting with his legs propped up to hide his boner. "Minding our own damn business, what are you doing?" He reaches for the bottle of sake and hides it behind his back. He's less than subtle so surely Huang Gai noticed and I have to admit, the intentional distraction is kind of clever.

Thankfully I'm dressed properly and have the chance to collect myself before he turns the light on me. I can't think of anything to say for once. I probably just look guilty.

He makes his own assumptions. "Stealing from the kitchen again? You two should find a better hiding place."

Gan Ning clears his throat loudly. "Don't tell anyone this once and I won't tell Sun Ce that I saw you slacking off the other day, napping under that tree."

He makes some hilarious puttering sound close to a groan of annoyance that really reminds me of his age. "Don't let me catch you again." He actually walks away.

That was so close.

No one's ever walked in on me before…

I guess we weren't in a bedroom… whose fault is that?

When the veteran fighter finally walks out of hearing I know the moment has past. With a heavy sigh I take out my ponytail, knowing it's probably messed up at this point. I try putting it up again while talking. "Maybe we should wait."

Utterly disappointed, the pirate basically lays down to die. He's not ready to stop but seriously… now is not the time anymore.

"Hey, don't be a baby. Come on. Let's go back. There's no point staying out here now that we've been found." Maybe I'm nervous because my explanation is longer than it needs to be.

He makes a sound of annoyance and gives in, getting up to follow me.

I just know… we'll have plenty of time to be together from now on.

...

_**Notes from Shadows**_

Hey guys! I know it's been a while so I wanted to upload a few short fics for you. I promise I'm not dead! Hope you liked it and as always, feel free to suggest characters you like too. You always give me great inspiration when I need it most.

I don't know who knows this but Dynasty Warriors 8 just came out in the u.s. on July 16th and I just got mine in the mail today so X3

We'll see what stories come out of playing this time

Sneak-peak into my editing:

**Shadows:** Hm, I wonder what's under synonyms for 'strutting'

**Computer:** 'swaggering'

**Shadows:** I guess I can understand that

**Computer:** 'swashbuckling'

**Shadows:** XD what are you trying to tell me?


End file.
